Jimmy
and Rosalyn Carter

A Victorian Christmas, 1980

Victorian
Christmas Tree

Christmas
is Christmas whether it is celebrated in Plains, Georgia
or Washington, D.C. and the Carter family celebrated in both locations
during their time in the presidency. In preparing for 11 straight days
of holiday entertaining, the White House was decorated for Christmas,
but not to the extent of previous administrations. The budget was tight,
so holiday decorations and entertainment had to be scaled back.

One of the most interesting
and controversial aspects of the Carters Presidential Christmases concerned
greeting cards. In 1977, the Carters ordered and sent 60,000 Christmas
cards, substantially more than any previous administration. In 1978, the
number jumped to 100,000 and in 1979 when there were 105,000, President
Carter finally established a White House committee to look into the problem
of too many Christmas cards!

The hostage crisis
in Iran dominated the holiday celebrations of 1979 and 1980. In 1979,
the National Christmas Tree and fifty surrounding trees each showed a
single light, one for each of the hostages. The President promised to
turn on the other lights when the hostages were freed. Because the hostages
were still in captivity, the following year the lights on the tree were
turned on for 417 seconds on Christmas Eve--one second for each day they
had been held.